Water exists on Mars but not to our tastes

Water, water everywhere — thought not quite fit to drink.

A Nasa team has found evidence of abundant water on Mars, albeit not freeflowing. Still, the find is enough for science fiction fans and space aficiandos to wonder if the dream of living on Mars has come a small step closer.

A study published in Science yesterday suggests that as much as 2% of the Red Planet’s soil is water by weight — meaning future astronauts or settlers could potentially extract two pints of water per cubic foot.